Communication is an elemental part of being human. However, some people lose the ability to communicate due to disease or injury, while those born with disabilities may struggle to communicate all their lives. The inability to communicate results in frustration for patients and caregivers. Now there is hope, thanks to internationally-known communicator Anita Curtis and her nonverbal method for reaching those without a voice.
Since 1994, Curtis has been successfully communicating with animals, establishing a reputation as one of the top people in the field and conducting regular workshops to share her knowledge. (If you are seeking animal communications, please visit anitacurtis.com.) A personal tragedy helped lead Anita to communicating with people no longer able to speak, and she now teaches caregivers and family members how to communicate with nonverbal loved ones. She works with stroke victims, autistic patients, people with Alzheimer’s, coma patients and those in hospice. “I believe we are all capable of doing this work and just have to be guided through the process,” she says.
Her husband Vic was dying from cancer. Very weak, he could no longer speak and had stopped eating. “The nurses told me these were signs that his life would end soon and at this point he would not want food again,” recalls Curtis. As she sat by his side, Curtis heard her husband say, “I’m hungry,” in the same telepathic manner in which she communicates with animals. She asked him if he would like some juice, and he nodded affirmatively. The following day she again heard him indicate telepathically that he was hungry, and she gave him some canned pears, which he enjoyed. The hospice nurse later said that couldn’t happen because once a patient in Vic’s condition stops eating they don’t start again. Who knows how many patients have felt pangs of hunger in their last days because of this belief?
Curtis realized that many people could no longer tell someone they were hungry, hot, cold or uncomfortable in some way. With animals, she communicates empathetically. Her work with human patients is similar, making an experiential connection into the way the person feels.